DeBoer hasn’t decided if Torres will join Sharks on road trip

Raffi Torres has made steady improvement from knee surgery four weeks ago but Sharks coach Pete DeBoer hasn’t decided if Torres would join the team on its road trip to Calgary and Winnipeg early next week.

Torres, who had a procedure on his right knee called subchondroplasty on Dec. 11 at Stanford, is eligible to return from his 41-game suspension Jan. 14 when the Sharks host the Edmonton Oilers. Torres was given the suspension in for his illegal hit to the head on Anaheim’s Jakob Silfverberg in a preseason game.

The Sharks play in Calgary on Monday and Winnipeg on Tuesday to complete Torres’ three month-plus ban from the NHL. If Torres does not make the trip, it seems unlikely that he’ll play against the Oilers.

“It’s been feeling a little nicer every day,” Torres said Friday. “Just have to battle through it and see how it reacts. Did some battle tests today for the first time in quite a while so, just see how it reacts the rest of the day.”

Since Torres lacks what he termed “shock absorbers” in his knee, he had a subchondroplasty procedure, as a paste made of calcium phosphate was injected into the top part of his right tibia. The paste then hardens into a bone-like substance that supports the knee.

Torres said he doesn’t wake up in as much discomfort now as he did earlier this month. Friday was the first day practiced with contact.

“It’s nice coming to the rink right now, and as of today, it’s going the way I want it to go,” Torres said.

“He’s taken some positive steps,” DeBoer said. “I think he’s feeling good about where he’s at right now. But one, he’s not eligible yet and two, we haven’t got him in a full practice yet.”

When Torres is eligible to return, the Sharks will begin a stretch where they’ll play six of seven at SAP Center, which has been a house of horrors for the home team this season. The Sharks have won just five of 17 games on home ice, the worst record in the NHL.

Perhaps Torres’ presence can make the Shark Tank a little tougher place to play for opponents.

“You want to be tough to play against at home,” Torres said. “Hold on to pucks a little more in their zone, make their defensemen work in their zone for long periods of time. Starts are key, get your bangs in, finish your hits.

“You want to establish that it’s going to be a tough night coming into San Jose. If we want to win games, we have to get back to everybody pitching in and doing their part.”